Avs legend Patrick Roy is once again a head coach in the NHL
Jan 20, 2024, 4:18 PM
Colorado Avalanche legend Patrick Roy is once again an NHL head coach.
This time, he’ll be tasked with fixing the underachieving New York Islanders.
In a move that rocked the hockey world on Saturday, New York fired their current head coach and announced Roy is now the man in charge.
#Isles News: New York Islanders President of Hockey Operations and General Manager Lou Lamoriello announced today that Lane Lambert has been relieved of his coaching responsibilities. Patrick Roy has been named Head Coach of the New York Islanders.
— New York Islanders (@NYIslanders) January 20, 2024
Roy was the Avs goalie from the 1995-96 season until the 2002-2003 season. He won two Stanley Cups with Colorado, after demanding a trade out of Montreal in the Avalanche’s first season in Denver.
The Hall of Famer won 551 games as player and is largely regarded as a top-3 goaltender in NHL history. He coached the Avalanche from 2013-2016, spanning three total seasons. The Avs made the playoffs his first year and Roy won the Jack Adams Award as the Coach of the Year. However, the team missed the postseason the next two years and Roy bizarrely quit in the summer of 2016.
That led the team to hiring Jared Bednar, who of course won the Stanley Cup in 2022 and remains behind the Avalanche’s bench to this day. Roy had been coaching in the QMJHL, leading the Quebec Remparts to the 2023 Memorial Cup as champions.
Unfortunately, the Avs and Islanders have already played twice this season, so unless they somehow meet in the Final, Colorado fans won’t get a in-person glimpse at Roy until next season.
